Stud driving and removing wrench



June 1954 R. A. VALVANO STUD DRIVING AND REMOVING WRENCH Filed Nov, 13, 1952 FIG.

INVENTOR RALPH A. VALVANO BY WM MAL,

ATTORNEYS Patented June 22, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs STUD DRIVING AND REMOVING WRENCH Ralph A. Valvano, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application November 13, 1952, Serial No. 320,169

6 Claims. 1

This invention has to do with wrenches used for gripping studs by which I mean cylindrical pieces having a thread on each end.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel, simple tool of rugged construction designed for use in inserting and removing studs but also useful as a wrench or chuck for a variety of purposes.

Another object is to provide a wrench of the type indicated which is easy to use in that it readily accommodates an object to be gripped and is quickly adjustable from an expanded position to a contracted or gripping position.

A further object is to provide a wrench designed for interchangeable jaw inserts and embodying means useful both as a handle and as a jawretaining means.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawing and the following description.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a wrench embodying the invention shown related to a stud;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the wrench of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a central sectional elevation of the device of Fig. 1;

Fig. is an enlarged sectional plan view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing the jaws in expanded position;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the wedge or eccentric j Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 4 showing the jaws contracted about a stud; and

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of the jaw elements in the plane of line 1--'! of Fig. 6.

More particularly describing the invention, the device includes a body I! which is provided with a reduced hexagonal upper section 2. The lower portion I 4 of the body II is preferably cylindrical. The upper portion may be provided with a recess l5 of square or other non-circular cross section to receive a tool. In Fig. 1 I show a stud S in the wrench.

The body is provided with a cavity 20 in the lower or major portion I4 thereof. The cavity is defined by cylindrically arcuate end walls 22 and 23 having the same radius of curvature and intersecting at 24 and 25. Each end wall extends through somewhat more than 180 of curvature. Wall 22 is concentric about an axis, indicated by 26, and wall 23 is concentric about an axis, indicated by 21. The ratio of the radius of curvature of the end walls to the spacing of the axis about which they are concentric, respectively, may be about 5:2. The cavity has a flat wall 28 at its inner end.

In the cavity 26 I provide a pair of jaws, indicated by 3| and 32. Jaw 3! will be termed a concentric jaw since it has a threaded, cylindrically arcuate, inner face 33 and a smooth, cylindrically arcuate, outer face or wall 3 concentric therewith. The threaded inner face 33% corresponds to the thread on the stud to be gripped. With the parts in the position in which they are shown in Fig. 4 in the particular form of the invention illustrated, each of the surfaces and 3:: are concentric about an axis, designated 2'23.

The other jaw, 32, will be termed an eccentric or wedge jaw since its inner and outer faces are not concentric. This jaw is provided with a threaded, inner face 35 which corresponds to the threaded face 33 of the other jaw. The outer face 36 of jaw 32 is cylindrically arcuate but eccentric with relation to its inner face 35 and preferably has a slightly greater radius of curvature than the outer face of the other jaw. For the purpose of illustration, referring to Fig. 5, it may be assumed that the inner face 35 of jaw 32 is concentric about an axis 31 and that the outer face 36 is concentric about an axis 38 offset from 3? toward end 39 of the jaw, the latter end being cut off to compensate for this and the larger radius and enable the jaw to fit within the cavity. The offset of axis 38 from axis 3'! is twice that of the increase of the radius of outer face 36 over the radius of the corresponding outer face of the jaw 3i and the jaw is cut off at end 33 by the amount of this offset.

The threaded inner faces of the jaws may be roughened or provided with serrations such as indicated by 4E! as shown in Fig. 3.

The two jaws are each slotted at their ends with slots 42 to receive keepers in the form of links G3. These each have a pair of slots M by means of which they are secured to the jaws by pins 45 loosely received in the slots and mounted in the jaws. Each of the links M is provided with a compression spring 46 which serves to yieldably urge the jaws apart to the open or expanded position of Fig. 4.

On the wedge jaw 32 I provide a handle in the form of a threaded pin 48 which is mounted in a tapped hole :39. The pin extends through a circumferential slot 59 in the body of the device.

In the operation of the wrench it will be apparent that with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 4 a stud may be inserted readily into the space between the jaws. In this connection it may be pointed out that the jaws are so chosen that the threaded inner faces thereof correspond to the threads of the stud to be gripped. Once a stud has been inserted the wedge jaw 32 may be moved manually inwardly to engage the stud. After that, it will be apparent that when the body and jaws are moved relatively in the directions of the arrow in Fig. 6, the wedge jaw 32 is cammed inwardly toward the other into gripping engagement with the stud between the jaws. The stud may thus be readily turned by the application of a wrench to the upper portion of the device.

Also, it will be apparent that the construction is adaptable to the use of interchangeable jaws, since the handle pin 48 serves as a"means for retaining the jaws in the body of the wrench and need only be unscrewed from jaw 32 to permit removal of the jaws.

Where a smooth stud or the like is to be gripped, jaws having roughened, cylindrically arcuate, inner faces may be used in place of jaws with threaded inner faces. Also, jaws having other types of recessed inner faces for gripping various objects can be provided.

Although I have illustrated and described a preferred form of my invention, I contemplate that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A wrench for studs and the like, comprising a body having a cavity open at one end thereof, the lateral margin of said cavity being defined solely by a pair of intersecting, cylindrically arcuate walls, and a pair of jaws received in said cavity, said jaws having cylindrically arcuate threaded inner faces, one of said jaws having an outer face concentric with its inner face, said other jaw progressing in thickness from one end to the other and having a semicylindrical outer face eccentric to its inner face.

2. A wrench as defined in claim 1 in which the arcuate walls of said cavity each extend through somewhat more than 180 of curvature.

3. A jaw set comprising a pair of jaws, the ends of said jaws being slotted, a link at each end of said jaw set received in said slots, said posed, said means permitting limited movement of said jaws toward and away from each other, the radius of curvature of the outer surface of one jaw being greater than that of the other jaw, said outer surface of said one jaw being offset toward an end of said one jaw relative to the corresponding outer surface of said other jaw whereby said one jaw progresses in thickness from one end to the other.

5. A wrench, comprising a body having a cavity open at one end thereof, said cavity having side walls formed by a pair of intersecting, cylindrically arcuate surfaces each extending through somewhat more than 180 of curvature, a pair of jaws received in said cavity, said jaws having opposed inner faces for engaging an object inserted between them; one of said jaws having an arcuate outer face substantially corresponding in curvature to the curvature of said arcuate surfaces, said other jaw having an arcuate outer face with a radius of curvature somewhat greater than that of said outer face of said one jaw, said other jaw being progressively thicker from one end to the other.

6. A wrench, comprising a body having a cavity open at one end thereof, said cavity being in part defined by a side wall of cylindrically arcuate form extending through somewhat more than 180, said cavity including a space laterally beyond the ends of said wall, a pair of jaws received in said cavity, said jaws having opposed inner faces for engaging-an object inserted between them, one of said jaws having an arcuate outer face substantially corresponding in curvature to the curvature of said cavity wall, said other jaw having an arcuate outer face with a radius of curvature somewhat greater than that of said outer face of said one jaw, said other jaw being progressively thicker from one end t0 the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 685,010 Stevens Oct. 22, 1901 1,140,567 Boring May 25, 1915 1,279,349 Johnson Sept. 17, 1918 1,815,363 Proctor July 21, 1931 2,305,637 Ricciardi Dec. 22, 1942 2,408,335 Oliver et a1 Sept. 24, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 35,848 Sweden Nov. 26, 1913 545,506 Germany Mar. 2, 1932 

